This is the city: Los Angeles, California. I work here. I'm an ex-mayor. Los Angeles is a magnet for people from all over the world. Some of them run for public office. Inevitably some of them stray from the golden rule and rule for those that have the gold. That's when I go to work. My name is Yorty. I'm a dead pol.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Wednesday

Another Station Fire Casualty

Okay, my first hotsheet, so be nice.

-The Irrelevant Mayor, Tony Villaraigosa, made an appearance on Pat Morrison's KPCC show yesterday where he feigned sympathy for the 14% of Los Angeles that are currently unemployed. I couldn't listen any further than his opening monologue, but you can give it your best shot HERE.

-Stephen Box, the "Should be Commissioner of All Things Bicycle" along with his beautiful wife Enci, were interviewed on KPFK's new show "Bike Talk" last night.

-Griffith Park Wayist, the hot new blog on the block, has their "Top Ten LA Political Stories of 2009" now up. The LA Weekly has already picked up on the post and I highly recommend it to all of you.

-OurLA names Carmen Trutanich "Man Of The Year". One of the first comments on Ron Kaye's blog is, "and the "Woman of the Year is?". Looks like the pressure is on.

-Paul Krekorian is set to be sworn into office as Council Rep for CD2 sometime in early January. So how does Paul, a guy that has yet to assume office, spend his time today? He spends it in Sunland-Tujunga assessing the Station Fire damage and potential debris flows with local, highly respected activist, Elaine Brown. Very impressive!

-Finally, a Very Happy Birthday to my amazing & beautiful daughter Stormy! She turned the big 14 on Tuesday!

26 Comments:

Anonymous said:

Griffith Park Wayist pretty much nails how amateurishly the Times' writers from editorial director Jim Newton to David Z were when it came to Trutanich's and Shallman's phony and fancy campaign promises, plans and smears. They fell for Shallman this time too though, with the CD2 race, didn't learn a thing.

This has to be a joke. THere is no way Janice can possibly think she'll make a good Lt. Gov. She can't even do her job in one district. All anyone has to do is bring out those videos of her with gang bangers supporting them and its all over

Oh, you must mean Trutanich's refusal to give $200k+ to Laura Chick's legal defense team for losing a case that was completely unnecessary after Trutanich allowed the audit of his Office.

Or is it the $100M+ that Trutanich refused to pay out in lame and meritless lawsuits that Delgadillo used to settle?

Perhaps it's warning Jan Perry and Tim Leiwecke that granting AEG 18 new billboard permits is illegal when two months earlier the City voted to ban all new billboard permits?

Could it be challenging Mayor Pro Tempore Jan Perry's signing off on a $3.2M boondoggle for AEG to help AEG sell video rights for the Jackson show to Sony for $60M while the City is bankrupt?

Maybe it's forcing the City Council to finally start regulating illegal marijuana shops after Ed Reyes delayed debate for 4 years while the rest of the City became more and more frustrated at the explosion of drug dealing near schools?

Perhaps it's winning a court case that showed Ed Reyes and Eric Garcetti that they were 100% completely wrong about trying to turn medical marijuana collectives into cash cows for drug dealers?

Was it getting a 'high five' photo in the Slimes after winning a 'Cops shoot a baby' lawsuit that could have cost the City hundreds of millions?

Could it be getting that crooked backroom deal that Weiss and Degadillo hatched to give a few billboard companies 900 digital billboards, thrown out with the judge describing the deal as 'poisonous?'

Or maybe it was putting a halt on paying campaign contributor private law firms hundreds of millions of dollars to do the work that the City Attorney's Office is fully capable of doing?

In six months Trutanich has done more for this City than Rocky Delgadillo did in 8 years of phony photo ops, corrupt backroom deals, and yellow belly lawsuit settlements.

You would rather have that sleazy elitist Weiss as City Attorney, wouldn't you? That way there would be no fuss and it would be business as usual. All nice and cozy in City Hall as Jan Perry and Ed Reyes continue to favor their puppet masters.

Doug McIntyre lampooned Trutanich for doing what we all want him to do; make these lazy politicians accountable for their actions. Perhaps Doug should have given you a little advice - next time you bristle at one of Trutanich's actions, ask yourself this question "What would Jack Weiss have done?"

Downtown lobbyists continue to be FURIOUS that they are getting calls from Andrew Westall, staffer to 10th District Councilman Herb Wesson, asking them to contribute money to his campaign for State Assembly.

Two people at my firm (and several others I know) got calls from this guy. The one who spoke with him said Westall is certainly skirting the line.

Why are lobbyists so angry? First, it is not clear whether a lobbyist, who is prohibited from giving to an LA City official anything of value, can contribute to a council staffer, who is a Planning Deputy no less.

Second, Westall is asking for money beyond the legal limits in Los Angeles. For example, the FEC has repeatedly ruled that their contribution limits apply to any ask, for any race, state, federal or local, requested by someone under the jurisdiction of the FEC.

If the City Ethics Commission rules that Westall is subject to the $500 max because of his role, he will have gotten all these lobbyists (and his boss, Herb Wesson) into SERIOUS SERIOUS trouble.

WE need to ask Janice Hahn how much money is she getting from AEG for this campaign. The clowncil members voted to give AEG those billboards even though they banned them. I'm sure there is something Hahn is getting from AEG for her vote saying YES give the billboards to AEG.

Paul Krekorian is forgetting that Lake View Terrace is on the other Tujunga Canyon - Little Tujunga Cyn, which was also severely burned and impacted in the Station Fire.

Using direct visual comparison, there was more thick, nasty mud-ash sludge coming down Little Tujunga last rainy day than Big Tujunga. (The crap in Big T was more water, less sludge).

We appreciate the 'north end of the CD2 barbell' love from Paul, but it would be nice if he remembered that Sunland-Tujunga is only one part of four or five communities on this end who contributed to his campaign. Only one of them self-identifies as "Sunland-Tujunga".

6:59 the peripatetic and pathetic Trutanich Troll blatantly lies here and on other blogs that Weiss and Deladillo joined in "hatching a backroom deal" on billboards. That was purely Rocky's deal, which Weiss didn't learn the details of until the rest of the council did, when Weiss was furious that Rocky allowed the digital conversions at all, let alone so cheap for no realistic fee to offset city inspection costs, AND especially, was furious that ROCKY'S secret deal did not have a mechanism for the city and residents to find out which billboard company put up which sign and where. In fact, Rocky had caved to Clear Channel's demand that such info be considered "confidential business" practices - in response to Weiss's demands, Rocky said then (as they do now) that companies involved would consider any attempt to renegotiate or breach contract an actionable offense that the city would likely lose.

To claim that Weiss and Rocky "colluded" on this or ANYthing is flat-out libelous, and Jane Usher spreading this lie during the campaign suggests that as long as she's sending out letters threatening bloggers like Mulholland Terrace on Griffith Park Wayist, she should start with herself and THIS commenter!

But of course, this is nothing compared to the lies and defamations spread during the campaign, by operatives and commenters from Berger/ Rumpole, including by Zine, to "anon."

Where is REd Spot these days? WTF?? Sleazy Huizy canceled his press conference to offer $50,000 for a gang banger shooting. Yup, at least that's what cops are saying and they are pissed. Huizy didnt' get anyone to show so now he's having his flackie Rick Coca say its being rescheduled for next week.